The jury has retired to consider their verdicts after the trial of the men accused of a pre-meditated attack on Cambridge U’s fan Simon Dobbin, which left him unable to walk or speak.

Mr Dobbin, from Mildenhall, was left with permanent brain damage after being “ambushed” following an away game in Southend, Essex. Mr Dobbin, 44, spent almost a year in hospital and has been left unable to walk or talk.

The trial of 12 men accused of involvement in the attack began in June. A 13th man, Rhys Pullen, 21, of Bridge Road, Wickford, has already pleaded guilty to violent disorder. All of the defendants deny conspiracy to commit violent disorder.

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Today (July 10) the jury retired to consider the evidence and to reach verdicts for each of the defendants.

Later in the afternoon, they were sent home for the night, to reconvene on Tuesday at 10.15am.

Lewis Courtnell

Philip McGill, left, and Lewis Courtnell, right

Courtnell, 33, a fence installer, of Stadium Road, Southend, denies violent disorder. Judge David Pugh said: “The prosecution say Courtnell has previous convictions. The defence says the case is simply not proved. He’s not seen on CCTV and any calls made featured no evidence of what happened, and that we can’t be sure he was a participant, rather than a spectator.”

Michael Shawyer

Michael Shawyer

Shawyer, 30, a tiler, of Belgrave Road, Leigh-on-Sea, denies violent disorder. Judge Pugh said: “The prosecution say a flurry of calls took place just after the incident and it’s no coincidence. Shawyer gave his name to the police and no injuries were observed. Mr Kevin Toomey (on behalf of Shawyer) referred to good character references. He says no one knows what Shawyer did there and you can conclude he wasn’t at the Spread Eagle. Thus, there was no motive for him to get involved. Shawyer was no more than a spectator, says Mr Toomey.”

Matthew Petchey

Petchey, 24, a labourer, of Lascelles Gardens, Rochford, denies violent disorder. Judge Pugh said: “The defence say Mr Petchey said ‘leave it, they don’t want any trouble’ when others were looking for Cambridge supporters. The defence says this is inconsistent with someone looking for trouble. The defence says you cannot be sure Petchey participated in violence. When the pub window is smashed, it’s Petchey seen holding McGill back. His role, the defence say, is as a peacemaker."

Alexander Woods

Alexander Woods

Woods, 24, of Fairmead Avenue, Westcliff, denies violent disorder. Judge Pugh said: “In an interview, he said he “thought” he had been outside, but didn’t know why. You’ll (the jury) have to decide whether that’s credible given what took place. As for the injury to his hand, he said he had grazed it earlier that day and it’s not necessarily consistent with violent disorder.”

Philip McGill

McGill, 31, an electrician, of Hornby Avenue, Westcliff, denies violent disorder. Judge Pugh said: “The prosecution say his previous convictions show he has a propensity. Mr Harrison (in defence) said there is no evidence for where McGill was. He said it is speculation to say he must have been outside the Railway Tavern. There are no eye witnesses and no blood on his clothes or hands.”

Thomas Randall

Thomas Randall

Randall, 21, a consumer credit employee, of Seaforth Avenue, Southend, denies violent disorder. Judge Pugh said: “The prosecution say he sent a message saying “it’s going to kick off. We’re going to smash them.” The prosecution say he sent a message saying “if he dies, my life is over” - this, they say, is an admission of his involvement. The defence say Randall has no previous convictions or cautions. The blood on his sleeve could have been caused by brushing against something.

“Victoria Meads (representing Randall) said the messages should be treated as banter. He accepts he threw a glass. He says he threw it on the floor. The defence say this is not a confession of involvement.

“He says he threw the glass on the floor for impact. You may wish to ask yourself what impact he was trying to achieve.”

Greg Allen

Allen, 28, a painter, of Wellington Avenue, Westcliff, denies violent disorder. Judge Pugh said: “There’s nothing in his phone contacts that would lead you to believe he had agreed to take part in an ambush. His actions, they say, are inconsistent with someone wanting to ambush Cambridge supporters. Mr Allen went out, defence say, to spectate and see what happened.”

Greg Allen, left, and James Woods

James Woods

Woods, 24, a chef, of Fairmead Avenue, Westcliff, denies violent disorder. Judge Pugh said: “He is seen on CCTV throwing a bottle and the prosecution say this amounts to violent disorder. He gave his name to the police and there were no signs of injury. The prosecution say CCTV in Station Approach is clear evidence of violent disorder. The defence say this is a man with no convictions or warnings against him. It was said by Mr Walsh on his behalf there’s no evidence of any conspiracy. As to evidence of him throwing a bottle, he invites you to ask where the bottle was thrown and whether it was thrown at anybody.”

Scott Nicholls

Scott Nicholls

Nicholls, 40, a construction worker, of Little Spenders, Basildon, denies violent disorder. The defence say there is no scientific evidence to link him to the attack. The defence adds that CCTV shows a man identified as Nicholls doesn’t have buttons on the front of his clothes and has no emblem or patch.

Ryan Carter

Ryan Carter

Carter, 20, unemployed, of York Road, Southend, denies violent disorder. Judge Pugh said: “The defence say the blood (on Carter’s shoes) could have come from another source. They say you cannot from the exchange of messages draw the inference that the blood is from Mr Dobbin or that he participated in violent disorder.

“There is still a conspiracy charge. It is accepted Carter “had the hump” about what happened at the Spread Eagle. The defence, though, says there is no telephone evidence. The defence says that, if Carter wanted revenge, why didn’t he go out when Cambridge supporters were behaving aggressively?”

Jamie Chambers

Jamie Chambers

Chambers, 22, unemployed, of Coleman Street, Southend, denies violent disorder. Judge Pugh said: “Chambers said he “never laid a finger” on Dobbin, but said he had been involved in a fight earlier. The prosecution say Chambers’ previous convictions show a propensity to this kind of offence. The defence say the case against Chambers is simply not proved.”

Ian Young

Young, 41, of Brightwell Avenue, Westcliff, denies assisting a criminal offender by hiding them while police were conducting a search. Judge Pugh said: “The defence say Mr Young has no previous convictions or warnings. Young didn’t interact, say the defence.

“The defence say there’s no evidence to suggest Young was trying to distract anyone. They said Courtnell followed him upstairs - he was not being helped by Young.”